The present invention relates to a method of processing a semiconductor wafer and to a semiconductor wafer supporting member which is suitably used in the method.
In recent years, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, there has been a trend towards manufacturing a larger variety of items in smaller lots. Thus, working conditions vary depending on individual wafers, and accordingly a process control must be effected in conformity with each individual variety and each individual lot. Furthermore, it is required to control information on the level of quality, for example, rating as Excellent, Good, Fair or Failure, with respect to each individual circuit (chip) formed on wafers.
The method known as the xe2x80x9cbar code methodxe2x80x9d is employed in order to effect such a process control or quality control. In the bar code method, the serial number carved on a surface of a wafer is transcribed in a bar code onto a bar code label, and the bar code label is then attached to a wafer supporting member. On the other hand, various information regarding the wafer is registered in a host computer in correspondence with the serial number of the wafer. At each step of the semiconductor wafer processing, information required for the control of the step is retrieved from the host computer with reference to the serial number, and the necessary operation is carried out on the basis of the retrieved information.
A detailed description of the process control for semiconductor wafer working in accordance with the above bar code method is found in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Nos. 4(1992)-146649 and 9(1997)-7977.
In this bar code method, the host computer for information control must control all information regarding the wafers, so that the problem occurs that the load on the host computer is extreme. Moreover, generally, all steps of wafer processing are not necessarily carried out in one plant, and wafers are transported from one plant to another plant in order to continue the processing thereof. All information regarding the wafer is registered in the host computer of one plant. Therefore, when wafers are transported from one plant to another, it is necessary to access the host computer of one plant from another plant to retrieve necessary information, or the information registered in the host computer must be memorized in an information recording medium and transported together with the wafers to another plant where the information regarding the wafers is registered in a host computer of another plant again. Therefore, the process control becomes laborious.
The present invention has been made in view of the above state of the prior art. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to construct a process control system for semiconductor manufacturing which enables reducing the load on a host computer and which facilitates an information control even if wafers are transported between plants.
The method of processing a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention comprises the steps of:
securing a semiconductor wafer on which circuits are formed to a semiconductor wafer supporting member having a data carrier;
inputting information required for semiconductor wafer working in the data carrier; and
reading the information from the data carrier and working the semiconductor wafer in accordance with the read information.
In this semiconductor wafer processing method, preferably, the working of the semiconductor wafer is at least one selected from among grinding the semiconductor wafer at its back, dicing the semiconductor wafer and picking up semiconductor chips produced by the dicing.
The semiconductor wafer supporting member of the present invention is suitable for use in the above semiconductor wafer processing method and comprises a data carrier.
For example, the semiconductor wafer supporting member of the present invention can be:
a first semiconductor wafer supporting member comprising a hard plate having the data carrier secured thereupon;
a second semiconductor wafer supporting member comprising a hard plate having the data carrier buried therein;
a third semiconductor wafer supporting member comprising a ring frame having the data carrier secured thereupon; or
a fourth semiconductor wafer supporting member comprising a ring frame and a pressure sensitive adhesive sheet provided so that the pressure sensitive adhesive sheet is spread by the ring frame, wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive sheet has the data carrier stuck thereonto.
With respect to the semiconductor wafer supporting member of the present invention, it is preferred that information regarding the condition of supported semiconductor wafer, the quality of circuits formed on a surface of semiconductor wafer and the data required for a process control of semiconductor wafer working be memorized in the data carrier.
In accordance with the present invention, information required for a process control for semiconductor wafer working is memorized in the data carrier of the semiconductor wafer supporting member, so that the load on a host computer is reduced and further, when wafers are transferred between plants, requisite information is transferred together with the wafers to thereby facilitate controlling the information therefor.